From a now defunct Saudi blog.
The Religious Police are colloquially known as the Muttawa, although that term also refers to anyone who is "very religious". Their full title is "General Presidency of the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vices". I doubt whether George Orwell could have thought of a better title. Here is their logo, on the door of a Suburban.
They can be recognised by their long beards and knee-length tunics (Thobes) that reveal rather skinny and unattractive legs. They also carry a short cane-like stick. They are often accompanied by a policeman. They have no power of arrest themselves, hence the accompanying policeman. However, once you are arrested, you can be detained and interrogated in their own premises.
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They are often recruited from Theology College graduates who fail to get jobs as Imams. Another source of recruitment is "born-again" prisoners. Overall, they are not credited with virtue, judgement or intellect. Without an accompanying policeman, they are not physically formidable. In fact, when they start yelling at you to go to prayer or cover your wife's face, the temptation to smack them in the face is almost overwhelming.
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At the time of the first Gulf War, they would target female GI's when they came into town. Their male colleagues (or occasionally the female GI's themselves) would often dump them into a nearby fountain or rubbish skip. The muttawa were tactically withdrawn from the major cities for a time, to avoid further incidents and damage to fountains.
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They once arrested the wife of an African ambassador, and her driver, in the Al Faisaliyah shopping mall in Riyadh, accusing her of being a "prostitute" out with a "John". She was detained for several hours. They ignored the diplomatic passport she was carrying. A major diplomatic incident was avoided when the government apologised and promised to build another mosque in the country concerned.
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A Canadian expat was walking with his wife in one of the shopping malls. The wife was pregnant, and carrying a small toddler in one arm. As a result of holding the toddler, her robe (Abaya) was lifted up at the side, revealing 3" of leg. A muttawa came up and remonstrated, and hit her on the bare ankle with his stick to make his point. The Canadian gentleman flattened him, breaking his jaw and knocking out several teeth in the process. The Canadian Embassy were involved. It was conceded that the Muttawa had overstepped his authority, but the family had to return to Canada.
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The wife of the Commander of the US base south of Riyadh, was walking in the souk in central Riyadh. A pair of Marine "minders", in plain clothes, were walking some yards behind. A muttawa moved across to start to remonstrate with her. He suddenly found himself enveloped by one Marine, as the other led the lady back to their car. The muttawa was upended and thrown onto his back, severely winding him. He's probably still trying to figure out what happened.
